The Music In this Demo Means One Thing: Redemption for Scaramouche 

Scaramouche, Kunikuzushi or The Wanderer, no matter what his name is he's a really well written character. Whether or not he redeemed himself, He finally found a purpose in life after living for centuries, its a refreshing perspective to see.

scaramouche isn't a fan of dango

saying"just as useless alive or dead"...but he still let them alive. i think thats the kindness of wanderer

The “Broody music” is actually Ominous Fandango of which has been used as his theme from back when he was the balladeer. It’s kinda like his past self peaked out for a bit before fading back out.

I really like how they used hints of the Raiden Shoguns theme. This is basically a faster more masculine and darker version of her theme while simultaneously being more upbeat

I think my favorite part is that they kept the whispers/background voices from his boss battle for his theme. I feel like that's a really interesting thematic choice, especially when you compare, for instance, the differences between tartaglia's character theme and boss theme. Hoyo-mix truly always does such an incredible job conveying characters through the music alone. ❤️

I just like how his ost sounds similar to Raiden’s but it flows as smooth as the breeze now because he’s free. The symbolisms in the video like the bird following him, the sound of thunder, and the Fatui standing in his way was always a chip on his shoulder. But he brushes it all off and moves on with his endless journey.

I LOVE that the bird is present in Raiden's idle animation, Yae Miko's idle animation and now in Wanderer's demo. Raiden lets the bird rest on her hand, allowing it to fly away. Miko lures in the bird and kills it, and the Wanderer gives the bird shelter (although he seems to be reluctant about it at first), before shooing it away, being like "ok, you gotta go now"

The whispering in his demo music caught me off guard SO MUCH. He’s still got that touch of divinity added to him. The elegance of the music before the beat drop reminds me of Ayaka’s theme, and the lone shakuhachi reminds me of Kazuha’s theme. I really hope Scaramouche becomes happier after his archon quest.

Personally I think Wanderer softened, even if only slightly. Scaramouche would've killed them without batting an eye imo. Also, at the end, when the video regains that old style movie quality, I think he's also speaking about himself when he says "I suggest you find your own way." I think this is not so much as being redeemed, but more of finally choosing his own path and being comfortable in his own skin.

first - also Im gonna whale the hell out of these banners. I spent 20 minutes making chapters and didn't push save. I'll do it another time.

Small detail: when the screen show Scaramouche's eyes got cover,i think it was a reference at reality. In Japan when you took a picture of someone relate to the story or a news,they got a black line cover thier eyes to protect thier identity.

I hated him, I felt conflicted, I felt bad, I sympathized, I realized he's just one lost being, he needs someone to be with him, or reassure that he's not alone and he doesn't have to be alone.. he's really really interesting and no matter what else might say. I love his character so much. I am so glad that I have him. No regrets.

The whispers beneath the melody, He's on his way to return to the serenity of Inazuma, where he was "born," but the whispers of the past can't be unheard or silenced. The Fatui theme is still faintly there at the end.

9:41 because of course they had to make it look like scaramouche is stepping on people ❤️

Why the Fatui didn't recognize him is likely due to the fact he wanders the world a lot when he was with them, and he doesn't have a lot of followers. So it's likely foot soldier members of the Fatui don't recognize him because they have not met him before

things that iv noticed about the music in this character demo 6:20 the woodwind instrument at the start sounds really similar to the one in kazuha's character demo, and from what I know scara is supposed to be a foil of kazuha and vice versa 7:47 the music starting from there is playing the same motif as the emotional part in scara's battle theme 9:57 the music here sounds a lot like "ominous fandango" the music we hear in the cutscene where scaramouche is first revealed to be a harbinger, they both also include the fatui leitmotif

At first I was doubting, and kinda getting bored but now I believe that he doesn't only help us to understand the music but he forces us to feel the music every time we hear. I want to thank you for always imparting knowledge, but this time I want to thank you for making me feel the emotions behind music and love it more.😇

I swear, on day Marco might just be a Scara expert with how in depth his analysis based off music alone

Marco will have a field day with Faruzan’s demo that was a wild demo

The ost that sounds in the first seconds is not only from Inazuma but also belongs to Kazuha's ost 👀

I didn't realize you could hear the whispered chants from his boss theme in the background

Scara’s demo reminds me of Raiden & Ayaka’s demo . It’s has theatrical style & Japanese letter popping out with the face view camera cutscene . It’s felt good especially around the burst

this is pure speculation and has nothing to do with his plot, just his psychology ig or character analysis, but: when scaramouche says "just as useless alive or dead," I actually think this sounds like him using his old violent persona as a mask in a way. just moments before in the video, we saw him say "I look forward to [dying a thousand deaths, as you say]. It's a shame you won't be around to see it" implying he's about to kill the Fatui. then he chooses to walk away and spare them - "you're just as useless alive or dead" or "you aren't worth killing" is still choosing not to take a life. the bird following him, perching on his hat and shoulder, also kind of signals a newfound kindness or appreciation for human life, to me. he's such a fascinating character and I cannot wait to pull for him! lovely analysis and video as always

I've been so excited for you to react to this video since the second it came out because Scaramouche's demo music is absolutely my favorite demo music at the moment. The whispered latin music? The remix of his boss music? God it's FANTASTIC.

Sounds like his theme is based on “Soul of Soulless Conditions” that plays on Kannazuka Island in Inazuma. That is a very interesting detail as he spent some time there before joining the Fatui

I''m happy to see another person who appreciates Scaramouche and can truly understand him. Most people see him as just an evil brat who deserves no redemption and that saddens me. What most people don't see is that Scaramouche didn't choose to take a dark path in life, he was forced to. For him it was either perish under the pressure or become a stronger person and make others perish instead.

The "Inazuma" parts sound a bit like Kazuha's demo's theme too while --> the dubsteppy-ish parts remind me of Raiden Shogun's demo

never have I seen so much emotion expressed in under 10 seconds. my man went from confusion, to dancing and vibing, to an abrupt stop and shock XD

It's crazy how much you understand Scaramouche just from his music!

This demo takes place at some point after the post-Sumeru interlude chapter (which comes out in less than 24 hours), so we do not yet know the specifics of Scaramouche->Wanderer transition, but the way I see it, he upgraded from "slapping people in the face for speaking out of turn" to "putting in the effort to ignore those which annoy him, but if they don't get the damn hint, whatever happens next is fair game", and it's exactly what I've been hoping for 🙏 He's not a nice and pleasant person and probably won't ever be (just check any of his voicelines when you get him :D), but now he seems to have less internal turmoil and self-hatred. Speaking of, that's what the whispers reminded me of: you know how with anxiety/depression/something other of that kind your head gets really noisy, but sometimes you get decent days when the noise simmers down to background ambience? It's still there, and probably will be in one way or another, but you don't feel it so acutely.

I like how on the begining and end video gets a shift in colors. So first it's so bland gives up Kurosawa vibe and when the bit drops gamma goes up. Chanting is amazing and I love his Japanese voice, it's so unique. Pulling for him as well, he's just so cutely evil.

Someone mentioned this that it was a nice touch by them with the bird. Like raiden shogun's idle animation letting the bird go (her letting go scaramouche), miko lures the bird then ate it (wanted to kill scaramouche instead of letting him go)

What I find interesting about that darker riff that you were talking about (a hint at his Harbinger theme) as he is walking past the defeated Fatui is thinking about it in combination with his dialogue. Like, it's language couched in his usual "humans are worthless" attitude, but his actions don't really match - he knows how Fatui operate, and these ones have even slighted and attacked him, he makes an example of them, and then...? He lets them go?? Yeah, he does, because they've made their mistakes and they should learn from it, and ain't that a whole ass metaphor for what Wanderer is going through rn. He's trying to learn and come to terms with himself, and it's awesome to see even in these tiny character moments.

That drop was so good. The part where his name card was revealed, you hear that kind of slowed down motif from him and then the whispers from the background

Another just phenomenal trailer by Hoyo, everything they do related to Scaramouche is fantastic and i want to get him more and more with each new content/story drop. But the music and visuals really are amazing here, I love so many similarities to previous connected characters like Kazuha and Raiden, and him still being as brutal as ever, now it's just targeted towards people that kind of deserve it. The EDM trap music with Inazuma themes just like his boss music and the whispering in the background, and dark synth elements on the second part just give me so much joy, glad we finally get him after 2 years of patience. And I'm excited about what fatui they're building up next, Dottore seems plausible for Fontaine since he's currently the only one with much screentime in game, but there could very well be a new one there as well and i'm hyped, maybe we'll see one teased in an event just like Scara was fingers crossed

to me his theme is hypnotysing also i really like the little details like a littel bell sound in his elemental burst it's so pretty-

I think that last bit of ominous fandango at the end, is showing that while The Wanderer is a person who’s reflected on his past and what he’s done, he hasn’t changed his personality. He’s still the arrogant asshole we genshin players know and love.

9:21 onward really reminds me of Raiden Shogun's own Demo from the camera play as well

Why the Fatui didn't recognise him? I think it's more or less like the military irl. You can know the names and ranks of people. But sometimes it just slipped your mind when they are actually in front of you, in different clothes. And in lore, he is the most hated Harbingers, with least number of followers too. So might be because of that.

since music is all about interpretaion i ll give mine: For me the music made me feel like there were a lot of voices speaking to Scaramouche(which can also symbol depression as some forms of depresison come along with voices) from his past and him finally rising above them and being able to ignore them....aka slowly learning to let go of his past pain and not being defined and lead anymore by it.

Your reaction at 2:28 is basically everyone I know that has experienced that demo for the first time. Im so glad you made an analysis on his demo, I was really looking forward to it and I thank you Marco. Its very interesting you say its almost "jazz" but its edm jazz, because that is exactly the same thing I was thinking yet I can not pin point the actual genre (other than like trap-like beat). Beside that Im very happy we are getting this much content and lore about him not just through in-game lore but musically, how some parts feel similar to Raiden Shogun, the whispers/chanting in the background on the beat drop etc. One of the most intriguing characters in the game for sure.

Really looking forward to the story update on how he ends up reformed like this since it's clear he's not a bad guy anymore but he's still got the attitude and pride

The amount of secrets, stories and easter eggs about scaramouch are many, in game and outside, since the beginning we ve been waiting to meet him like this. And unlike other characters, he knows many secrets to this world, so I expect we gonna learn some choking truth.

I love your little obligatory shoulder waggle any time the edm comes in xD

I'll never get sick of re-watching your scara vids 😭💜

You’ve blessed us again after hearing the demo your the one person I needed to listen to this. Keep up the amazing work

omg, im just fascinating to see your way to react things, give me new visions, lv it

as a literal hat man, i have all the support in the world for him becoming playable and i couldn't be more excited. that trailer truly showed like, what his redemption arc looks like and i love how the music is so reminiscent of his past, both from his other boss themes and the raiden shogun but its so different now, it has an air of tranquility and grace showing how much he's changed, although his cold and calculating attitude still shows

I was waiting for this! The moment the demo dropped and I heard the music I knew I had to see how Marco reacts and dissects this. One thing I love is how the voices didn’t go away, but now have a different vibe to them

For some reason, I want to hear Scaramouche battle theme together with Wanderer's theme. Btw, if you're confused why Scaramouche isn't Fatui - I guess that's because he wants to forget about the Fatui, and everything, and find his own way in life.

The Wanderer has voice lines for each of the harbingers and their names in relation to the characters or tropes of comedia del arte. I thought you'd find that interesting once you get him :D

cant wait till you get to this part of the story! and good luck on your scara pulls!! i cant wait till he comes out, and i also cant wait for these osts to drop.

When the whispers hit... O.O

Yae and Raiden Ei - both have that same bird in their iddle animation, that is flying to Scaramouche at the beginning. Also those negative-film parts are resembling Raiden Ei's original trailer too.

These videos are a huge inspiration for me. I've always wanted to get into composing and making music (specifically for my own characters), but aside from reading basic sheet music I know almost nothing about music theory. Watching you analyze some of my favorite video game songs and reveal the composing techniques / tricks used in them has been a huge inspiration to me, to the point where I finally started trying to compose my first song.

I will note one thing from an event way back in 1.1 when Scaramouche was first introduced, he was not above threatening his subordinates, just to give you an idea of some of his personality that you can no longer experience.

Just wanted to say you have a really good fit today! Love the sweater look with the glasses - great content as always 👍🏼

you have absolutely NO IDEA how excited I am to see you finally get to Sumeru!! You'll love the soundtrack there, especially the desert soundtracks. I got so much chills going through Sumeru's archon quest and I think you'll have so much fun going through it too :] so fun to see your reactions and your thoughts on different aspects of the game!

Great Video man. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS HEHEEHEHE THANKS, MARCO!

I come from the future now I know that your description about Scaramuche is precise

I love your analyses so much!! You always manage to make me feel the music and appreciate what I'm listening to even more. His demo is so amazing, I love it so much. The music was incredible as always, that whispering and the beat drop make me go insane. I'm so excited to pull for Wanderer, he's so cool. I really love him. He's so interesting and well written. too bad I can't open Genshin right now.

Imagine: when 3.3 goes live, he goes live, pulls, gets wanderer after paying a bit into the game, then speedruns frienshiping him to listen to what he says and read his story. I can definitely imagine that xd

Early! I’ve been waiting for this ever since his demo was released!

The drop and the visuals are so good

Scara's demo is one of the darker ones for sure ( not like : YEA POWAA!!) ,as you say , He's confident , though going all out, he still spares the Fatui here . I love the whispering chanting , so hypnotic ! Any idea what they are saying ? Otherwise I cannot unhear "Ice, Ice, Cold ~ "

Rewatching it, and the thing I love is how the bit you describe as bouncy and having playful energy (8:36) is the very same one that's played on the flute in his boss battle, and the one that made me feel the most heartbreak :D I love that we got to hear his boss music first and his demo music later, because if the order was the opposite, and we had time to get acquainted with the calmer, playful version, and then got the hurt & regretful edition, it would hit so much harder :D

the fatui members don't recognise scaramouche because many lowly members have never seen the faces of the harbingers, at least from what i've heard. love the video, marco!

nice sweater. also i’m glad you keep giving these musical insights-i love the genshin soundtrack and past the prologue it’s improved a lot (funding and interest etc contributing at least partially to the rise in quality, i’m sure).

I'm lucky you're my fav reaction channel + you like scara and you make many videos related to him so it's a win win for me.

IM SO GLAD YOU'RE REACTING TO HIS DEMO TOO YAYS

i knew you'd love it!

The echoing/whispering in the background reminds me a bit of a swiss rap band (maybe not swiss specifically but German?). It's quite cool.

I was really excited to see your interpretation from the music in this demo. I think you are spot on. I think that The Wanderer is the new path that he is choosing to walk, but we catch glimpses of Scaramouche as we’ve come to know him. His character is transforming, but slowly. I can’t wait to see where Hoyo take his character!

Lol 2:29 your reaction. I wasn't expecting your unexpectedness And I really love the loud whispers for some reason

A very _insightful_ Demo trailer, I dare say. Hints and bits of everything from his past and for the upcoming future. Very masterfully done! Sadly, some people find this Demo-trailer _mid_ because it didn't resonate with them. I don't want to go in details, but I will say, people tend to avoid the bigger picture that is in front of them or pretend it doesn't exist. But I loved the analysis as always. Thank you! 🙏

"why don't fatui recognize scaramouche?" those who haven't finished the archon quest: 🙂🙂🙂 those who have: 😢😢😢

I really like how this demo tell the story of all of the influential places that the wanderer had before just ending on his motif.

Loved your reaction as usual! You should react to Faruzan’s demo trailer that just released too! Musically its like the complete opposite to Scaramouche’s/Wanderer’s demo, which I’m sure you’d enjoy to react to 😁

I really like how they did a call back to the ominous fandango. This character has definitely grown on me. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for him in the future.

"Musically that's preeetty not very nice" That's because he's still not very nice LMAO But he's very interesting, and that music at the end is his "Fatui theme" if you will, called "The Ominous Fandango", which could be a hint towards his attitude not changing much regardless of his outlook There's also a hint of the Tatarasuna (an island in Inazuma) theme in his music as well I believe (unless it was in the trailer for 3.3, can't remember) but this is very important because of his backstory which we'll find out about soon As for the Fatui not recognizing him, we'll probably find out why that is once 3.3 comes out! Which actually is gonna happen in Les than 24 hours from now I believe

Personally for me, the song is great and I love the essence of pursuing redemption that can be heard throughout it. The beginning sounds very hopeful and bright, and its like he's embraced this new version of himself and is willing to forgive himself, and to move forward. The reminder of who he was at the end is still a bit unsettling but, after all, change doesn't happen overnight. Great analysis too Marco, I really enjoy your perspicacity when it comes to music and especially these theme songs.

the beginning of scaras theme is very very similar to the beginning of kazuhas demo theme !!! very interesting considering their lore

well the thing is that apparently his existence was removed from the irminsul meaning no one remembers him it was said in the trailer: "From this day forth, 'Balladeer' and 'Kabukimono' will cease to exist"

I love Scaramouche so I'm always happy when there's more Scara content 🥰 Idk if you've met him in the story yet, but I can't wait to watch your future Genshin streams to see your reaction either way 💜

LMAO when the first beat hit that was SO ME- I became a scara fan ever since that beat fr

i'm impressed that you got the gist of scaramouche to wanderer before you got to see the actual demo.

Man, knowing what we know now about what ends up happening to Scaramouche, or the wanderer, makes me love this teaser more and more. The music. Amazing. It does feel very resolute and confident, but not in the sort of sad way his theme has been shown before. It’s more like he’s very sure of his current path now. That he knows it’s right. Yet that chanting, and that sort of call back to his other themes at the end that it’s not like he’s had a major character change either. The music still feels sort of sadistic and mischievous. Absolutely love it. Also the visuals. The glitching feels very out of place unless you know what happens to him, but then it just feels perfect. The teaser almost displays it as almost like reality glitching around him. Just absolutely perfect, seriously.

Your sweater does look very comfy

Love love love it

That "maybe... I dunno" of yours is the definition of Wanderer's current state, lol looks like you resonate so much with him :)

I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I think the chanting is the same as in the battle theme of his weekly boss fight

I love how he never forgets where he's coming from, I remember the first time I heard of him and friends said he was from Inazuma while my first reaction to that was "what's an Inazuma" but it's super interesting because all the other harbingers that aren't native to Snezhnaya adopted a lot from it visually (Dottore and Signora so far)

Very much enjoyed hearing your reaction! Your musical analysis is a treat as always. One thing to consider, since you’re pulling him-he’s going to use a lot of sumeru materials. His boss is at least on the side of sumeru near liyue to the south, but he also uses rukkhashava mushrooms, which can be a bit hard to find. There’s a npc in gandharva ville(a bit north/level with the chasm iirc) who will sell you 5 per week, and there’s a number in the northeast edge in mawtimiya forest. So it might be helpful to look up where to find them or open up a few waypoints there and check every so often?(I believe regional specialties regenerate every three days or so) You don’t have to do any of this by any means ofc! But I had a heck of a time hunting them down for the other character that needs them, and the mushrooms don’t tend to be in groups so I figure you should at least be warned.

I wanted to point out a speculation on why the fatui doesn't recognize him, since in the story quest he visits irmensul i think he erased his previous identities like he said in the 3.3 trailer and confronted his previous self, so now he really will be known just as a wanderer while kunikuzushi and scaramouche are no more, maybe few will remember it like the traveler but we'll see.

It's cool to see you figuring out what's going on with him just by listening to the music, despite not knowing what's going on in the story currently. You're correct that there are contradictions - all will be revealed in(and out of) time.

The story will explain everything

Dear lord have mercy! You have to hand it to the people at Hoyo-Mix and how they can design the same theme almost 4 different ways to tell a story. Bloody Stellar!

Sumeru Archon quest is where you find the answers to all the questions you have about him. I cannot wait for you to get there and experience it. Hoyoverse truly did it masterfully! ^^